What changes you would make?

Icepick

Count Dooku wrote: »

Stop overseas aid waste until economy will recover

0.5% of the budget going to the poorest and most unfortunate people on earth is too much? 80% is going on welfare in Ireland.
Is that ratio not high enough?

shruikan2553

Icepick wrote: »

0.5% of the budget going to the poorest and most unfortunate people on earth is too much? 80% is going on welfare in Ireland.
Is that ratio not high enough?

Its too much when we have to borrow money in order to give it. It goes to the governments as far as I know, one of which buys expensive fighter jets.

Idbatterim

Cut straight 5 billion from welfare. 3 billion to close the deficit and use the other two to reduce paye prsi, it would be a start...

Icepick

shruikan2553 wrote: »

Its too much when we have to borrow money in order to give it.

That doesn't mean we should not provide aid.
Not only does it help people, but it also buys a lot of goodwill and economic opportunities.

johnnyskeleton

sarumite wrote: »

Cut money from government payments I don't receive and increase taxes in a manner in which I wouldn't be overly affected. Just thought I would get it out there since its the underlying reason behind many discussions on here.

Probably because the last 15 years have seen tax increases disproportionately affect middle class people while a substantial amount of government payments are paid to people as a disincentive to work.

Just because fixing this means that it impacts ordinary workers less than the unemployed doesn't mean that it isn't right or necessary to stabilise the economy and balance the books.

johnnyskeleton

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Offload NAMA assets in bulk to wealthy Middle Eastern investors

Why not offload it to the highest bidder instead of to a fixed portion of the world that probably has no real interest in buying ghost estates in cavan

johnnyskeleton

Dave! wrote: »

Also stop giving the full dole amount to young people who live with their parents.

Thats so 2008

Dave!

Are we talking about the same payment? There's a difference between JSB and JSA as far as I know (resisted using AFAIK there; acronym overload).

When I came out of college (2009), I was unemployed for a while and was getting quite a high rate despite living at home and having no expenses.

As a beneficiary of that, I naturally want to pull the ladder up behind me! Not sure what the current situation is, I wasn't aware of it having changed though.

TheReverend

Dave! wrote: »

Are we talking about the same payment? There's a difference between JSB and JSA as far as I know (resisted using AFAIK there; acronym overload).

When I came out of college (2009), I was unemployed for a while and was getting quite a high rate despite living at home and having no expenses.

As a beneficiary of that, I naturally want to pull the ladder up behind me! Not sure what the current situation is, I wasn't aware of it having changed though.

Yes if you are on JSA now and are under 25 you get a reduced rate which is between €100 to €144 which can then be reduced again depending on what your parents earn.

Max Powers

knipex wrote: »

Why fat and sugar ?

Milk is relatively high fat especially compared to a diet soda.. Which would you give your child ?? Fruit juices are very high in Sugar again particularly when compared to a diet soda.

Excessive carbohydrates apparently can cause obesity..

Why target Sugar and fat in particular ??

c'mon now. I have yet to hear of someone getting diabetes or have a weight problem (2 major and costly issues for the HSE and getting worse) due to milk or OJ consumption. soft and artifical suggary drinks and sugary sweets on the other hand

Dave!

TheReverend wrote: »

Yes if you are on JSA now and are under 25 you get a reduced rate which is between €100 to €144 which can then be reduced again depending on what your parents earn.

How great are this government? Implementing all of my ideas before I even demand them!

AlmightyCushion

Max Powers wrote: »

c'mon now. I have yet to hear of someone getting diabetes or have a weight problem (2 major and costly issues for the HSE and getting worse) due to milk or OJ consumption. soft and artifical suggary drinks and sugary sweets on the other hand

Exactly his point. A fat and sugar tax would affect these. Also, obesity isn't caused by what you but how much. You could lose a lot of weight while eating a diet consisting of pure lard and Mars bars and you could gain a lot of weight while on a diet of just healthy vegetables.

fliball123

Reduce waste on social welfare - reform the system so that people get 100 Euros a week food stamp and allowances for the likes of accommodation, clothes, light and heat..This could save billions by doing a deal with one of the aldi/lidl chains

Change Chlidrens allowance - Make the mother put the fathers name on the child's birth cert and have them pay alimony for this kid at a % of their wage including if they are on the dole (thats only if my first change is not implemented)

Third rate of tax for those earning over 100k at say 48%

Take all tax credits away and put all taxes as income tax (USC, prsi) it would simplify and make the system easier to use which would save cash. This would also mean people paying tax on their first Euro and everyone should pay tax even those at the lower end.

A new higher tax rate on penions over 60K at 48%

Up the Corpo tax from 12 to 13 (up a bit but not enough to scare the googles and facebooks away)


Anyone not at the legal age of retirement (68) and drawing a pension should be taxed at 80% ..encourage people to work and any public sector worker drawing a pension before the age of 68 should be told to feck right off and work to their retirement age like everyone else.

Introduce a going bankrupt abroad tax as in if someone decides to go bankrupt abroad leaving the tax payer with a massive bill..then if they decide to come back to Ireland they should pay an extra 10% on tax above everyone else.

Introduce a bankers pension tax..Anyone who was working in any of the banks in the period of say 2000 until 2010 if they are getting a pension they should pay an extra 10% in tax on it.

Cyclist tax - anyone using a bike should have to take a test as they are a menace on the road going through lights and the likes..Its obvious they have no clue of the rules of the road

Text tax - 1 cent per text would bring in a shed load of cash

Introduce more privatisation and competition for public sector and semi state areas.

Finally a 5% cut to all public sector workers pay and a stop on increments for the next decade.

This list of measures hits all and would have us back in the black

ezra_pound

Why and how tax cyclists?

fliball123

ezra_pound wrote: »

Why and how tax cyclists?

Well they use the road same as cars and they are the most dangerous cohort currently on the road, they cause more mayhem than any other type of vehicle, they cycle without proper signals and ignore lights (not all do this but a very high % of cyclists I see are of this nature) So why should they not pay ?

And 100 Euros a year for them as for the how..you could make it compulary for them to have a license once they purchase a bike. I see no difference between a bike and a car on the road

ezra_pound

fliball123 wrote: »

Well they use the road same as cars and they are the most dangerous cohort currently on the road, they cause more mayhem than any other type of vehicle, they cycle without proper signals and ignore lights (not all do this but a very high % of cyclists I see are of this nature) So why should they not pay ?

And 100 Euros a year for them as for the how..you could make it compulary for them to have a license once they purchase a bike. I see no difference between a bike and a car on the road

Most dangerous?

How many people have been killed or seriously as a result of cycling this year? Or the last ten?

That is bull:#t mate.

I agree that there are a lot of badly behaved cyclists at the moment.

However there are also a lot of awful f drivers out there.


The government want to double the amount of people cycling not reduce it so you're living in cloud cuckoo land if you think they're going to tax it.

fliball123

ezra_pound wrote: »

Most dangerous?

How many people have been killed or seriously as a result of cycling this year? Or the last ten?

That is bull:#t mate.

I agree that there are a lot of badly behaved cyclists at the moment.

However there are also a lot of awful f drivers out there.


The government want to double the amount of people cycling not reduce it so you're living in cloud cuckoo land if you think they're going to tax it.

That is my opinion and I am entitled to it. They indirectly cause mayhem on the road ... dont get me wrong there are a lot of bad drivers aswell..but they pay road tax/carbon tax/Vat on petrol/insurance/NCT/ for the privilege.. Why should cyclists get away with road tax?

spank_inferno

fliball123 wrote: »

Reduce waste on social welfare - reform the system so that people get 100 Euros a week food stamp and allowances for the likes of accommodation, clothes, light and heat..This could save billions by doing a deal with one of the aldi/lidl chains

Change Chlidrens allowance - Make the mother put the fathers name on the child's birth cert and have them pay alimony for this kid at a % of their wage including if they are on the dole (thats only if my first change is not implemented)

Third rate of tax for those earning over 100k at say 48%

Take all tax credits away and put all taxes as income tax (USC, prsi) it would simplify and make the system easier to use which would save cash. This would also mean people paying tax on their first Euro and everyone should pay tax even those at the lower end.

A new higher tax rate on penions over 60K at 48%

Up the Corpo tax from 12 to 13 (up a bit but not enough to scare the googles and facebooks away)


Anyone not at the legal age of retirement (68) and drawing a pension should be taxed at 80% ..encourage people to work and any public sector worker drawing a pension before the age of 68 should be told to feck right off and work to their retirement age like everyone else.

Introduce a going bankrupt abroad tax as in if someone decides to go bankrupt abroad leaving the tax payer with a massive bill..then if they decide to come back to Ireland they should pay an extra 10% on tax above everyone else.

Introduce a bankers pension tax..Anyone who was working in any of the banks in the period of say 2000 until 2010 if they are getting a pension they should pay an extra 10% in tax on it.

Cyclist tax - anyone using a bike should have to take a test as they are a menace on the road going through lights and the likes..Its obvious they have no clue of the rules of the road

Text tax - 1 cent per text would bring in a shed load of cash

Introduce more privatisation and competition for public sector and semi state areas.

Finally a 5% cut to all public sector workers pay and a stop on increments for the next decade.

This list of measures hits all and would have us back in the black

I don't want to hurt your feelings.... Most of the above is bull-plop..... Unworkable populist bull-plop.

ezra_pound

fliball123 wrote: »

That is my opinion and I am entitled to it. They indirectly cause mayhem on the road ... dont get me wrong there are a lot of bad drivers aswell..but they pay road tax/carbon tax/Vat on petrol/insurance/NCT/ for the privilege.. Why should cyclists get away with road tax?

LoL.

So you think cyclists should pay vat on petrol and carbon tax.

Omg

Everybody who buys petrol pays vat and carbon tax on it. When I fill up my car with petrol I don't get a tax free rate because I also cycle.

Cyclists also pay motor tax on their cars which means that they subsidise lasy drivers who never cycle.

Road tax was abolished in 1937.

I think you need to grow up and realise that a. The polluter should always pay when dealing with a scarce resource b. Most cyclists also drive and c. The cost of maintaining a bike is quite high.

Anyway your opinion that cyclists are the most dangerous road users is completely at odds with RSA data. I don't care if it's your opinion. You obviously aren't very good at forming informed pinions.

fliball123

spank_inferno wrote: »

I don't want to hurt your feelings.... Most of the above is bull-plop..... Unworkable populist bull-plop.

Really when you think of how they are implementing the water metering system I think the above would be far more easily introduced

ezra_pound

fliball123 wrote: »

That is my opinion and I am entitled to it. They indirectly cause mayhem on the road ... dont get me wrong there are a lot of bad drivers aswell..but they pay road tax/carbon tax/Vat on petrol/insurance/NCT/ for the privilege.. Why should cyclists get away with road tax?

Also nct and insurance? Do you want nondrivers to pay to insure you and makesure your vehicle is in working order?

Cop on.

fliball123

ezra_pound wrote: »

LoL.

So you think cyclists should pay vat on petrol and carbon tax.

Omg

Everybody who buys petrol pays vat and carbon tax on it. When I fill up my car with petrol I don't get a tax free rate because I also cycle.

Cyclists also pay motor tax on their cars which means that they subsidise lasy drivers who never cycle.

Road tax was abolished in 1937.

I think you need to grow up and realise that a. The polluter should always pay when dealing with a scarce resource b. Most cyclists also drive and c. The cost of maintaining a bike is quite high.

Anyway your opinion that cyclists are the most dangerous road users is completely at odds with RSA data. I don't care if it's your opinion. You obviously aren't very good at forming informed pinions.

Regardless of my personal opinions on cyclists. Do cyclists use the road ?? Yes they do..so why should they be exempt from Road tax?

ezra_pound

fliball123 wrote: »

Really when you think of how they are implementing the water metering system I think the above would be far more easily introduced

No. A water metre measures how much of a scarce and valuable resource is used by a household.

It makes absolute sense because it decreases waste and encourages sensible use. It's also relatively easy to implement.

ezra_pound

fliball123 wrote: »

Regardless of my personal opinions on cyclists. Do cyclists use the road ?? Yes they do..so why should they be exempt from Road tax?

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ROAD TAX

OMG

ezra_pound

how do you think the roads are funded?

thebman

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Exactly his point. A fat and sugar tax would affect these. Also, obesity isn't caused by what you but how much. You could lose a lot of weight while eating a diet consisting of pure lard and Mars bars and you could gain a lot of weight while on a diet of just healthy vegetables.

Yes you can claim you can get fat by veg but which is more addictive? Brocolli or Mars bars?

Too much sugars are bad for you, personally I wouldn't exempt fruit juice either. People are addicted to sugar, same as cigs, same as alcohol. It should be heavier taxed to encourage people to consume less.

Personally I'd also be in favour of compulsory redundancies in the HSE after an analysis of which areas are overstaffed still. They've missed their budget targets again so they aren't playing ball with the expected savings they are supposed to get so the protection should go, just like the teachers. Of course it will never happen in this country due to broken politics.

Idbatterim

Id be in favour of a minimum E100 charge or more for anyone that is admitted to hospital for alcohol or drug reasons, let them pay in person by card there and then, if they cant, charge an additional admin charge and deduct it straight at source from welfare (if applicable) If they can afford to get the messed up, they should be able to afford it no problem...

on top of that a yearly NCT, instead of the motor tax increase, it will create jobs, safer roads and likely bring in more than the motor tax increase would.

also cut child benefit if one or both parents are unemployed, they already have their child minder!

Make the criminals pay for their crimes from their dole.

Free Legal Aid only for those found innocent.
Those found guilty should have the Legal Aid fee taken from their dole or wages if working.
Juveniles who are guilty of crimes would also think about it if their parents had to pay.
Crime would be seriously reduced. It might make the streets safer too.

yeah agree with this, charge a multiple of the the amount of the damage committed plus another sum for the police / court time...

skafish

Idbatterim wrote: »

Id be in favour of a minimum E100 charge or more for anyone that is admitted to hospital for alcohol or drug reasons, let them pay in person by card there and then, if they cant, charge an additional admin charge and deduct it straight at source from welfare (if applicable) If they can afford to get the messed up, they should be able to afford it no problem...

on top of that a yearly NCT, instead of the motor tax increase, it will create jobs, safer roads and likely bring in more than the motor tax increase would.

also cut child benefit if one or both parents are unemployed, they already have their child minder!
yeah agree with this, charge a multiple of the the amount of the damage committed plus another sum for the police / court time...

Have to agree with you re hospital charges. I would also double hospital charges for people who go to A&E for things that should be looked after by their GP...eg prescription renewals, in fact, any complaint that is not an accident or emergency.

Don't agree with increasing the frequency of NCTs; motorists are already paying a huge price in this country, and for most of us, there is no public transport alternative

OldNotWIse

Have a separate, lofty A&E charge for drunken fight injuries, and charge the skanger friends an admission fee since they always have to tag along and get their tuppence worth.